CARDINALS FALL IN TITLE GAME
CLHS battles hard before dropping 66-58 decision to top seed Stuart Hall
LAKE COUNTY >> Senior center Jaron Mertle scored the game’s first two points to give Clear Lake its one and only lead against the Stuart Hall Knights nearly a year ago today in the North Coast Section Division 5 boys basketball championship game at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco.
Until the COVID-19-delayed 2020-21 sports season starts, the Lake County Record-Bee will take a look back at the local sports happenings of a year ago and the teams and athletes who were making the headlines.
After Mertle put the Cardinals up 2-0 in their first sectional championship game appearance since 1989, the Cardinals (26-4) spent the remainder of their evening chasing the topseeded Knights (24-7) on the scoreboard before finally falling 66-58. Stuart Hall senior guard Kyle Jasper was largely responsible for that as he buried seven 3-pointers, most from well behind the 3-point arc, and finished with 29 points overall.
While it was the sectional finale for both teams, the two schools still had the NorCal playoffs ahead of them although both found themselves bumped up to Division 4 for the northern regional of the CIF state tournament. Stuart Hall retained its No. 1 seeding for the NorCals while Clear Lake dropped all the way to No. 10 in the 16team field, which came as something of a shock to Clear Lake head coach Scott De Leon and the Cardinals, who were expecting a high seed in Division 5.
“We still get next week and I’m excited about that,” De Leon said when asked about the NorCal playoffs following the loss to Stuart Hall.”
Stuart Hall’s plan on defense was pretty obvious from the opening tip-off; they weren’t going to let Clear Lake senior center Jaron Mertle beat them down low. Simply put, the Knights did everything they could to take away not only Mertle, but senior shooting guard Darius Ford, who went on to lead the team with 16 points.
“They did a great job of neutralizing Darius and Jaron,” De Leon said. “That was their gameplan and they executed it.”
While the Cardinals had a distinct size advantage with Mertle and Tyler Cerini on the floor, the Knights used their incredible speed, quickness and aggressive play to keep Clear Lake’s big men in check, especially Mertle, who finished with six points, well below his season average.
“They were very physical and you have to adjust to it,” De Leon said. “We didn’t adjust well in the first half.”
Clear Lake trailed 40-23 at halftime, Jasper leading the way with 14 points and four 3-pointers. The Cardinals were never closer than 11 points until the final two minutes of the game when they replaced all of their starters with reserves even if Stuart Hall didn’t reciprocate. Nonetheless, the Cardinals’ second unit scored three baskets, including a 3-pointer by Blaine Dutcher in the closing stages of the game.
While Ford led the Cardinals in scoring, including four 3-pointers, he earned every single point as he was constantly badgered by a Stuart Hall defense that limited his shot opportunities or made them as tough as possible. He still responded, going 6-for-14 from the field. including a 3-pointer that opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, a shot from at least seven feet behind the arc.
Clear Lake appeared to be on the verge of making a run early in the third quarter when Donovin Valadez (10 points) scored seven straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to cut Stuart Hall’s lead to 42-31. Just as though momentum appeared to be swinging in the Cardinals’ favor, Jesper buried his fifth 3-pointer of the night to make it 4531, and the momentum was gone just like that.
“He’s a very, very good player,” De Leon said of Jasper.
“He knocked down his shots.”
While the Cardinals had hoped to return to Lakeport with a championship pennant and plaque instead of the runner-up pennant, De Leon said he couldn’t find any fault with his team’s performance given what they were up against in Stuart Hall.
“We can’t prepare for their speed and physicality in practice, there’s no way,” De Leon said of the Knights. “They took us out of our game. Their team is very well put together and well coached. That’s why they’re the No. 1 seed. Stuart Hall is a fantastic team.”
What the Cardinals did do was “play their butts off,” according to De Leon, until the issued was settled with two minutes left in the game. “We played with class, that’s why I’m so proud of this team. We’re disappointed with the loss, but we never gave up. I’m proud of the class and dignity we showed even though we lost.”
De Leon said the entire Lakeport community can take pride in what a small public school of fewer than 400 students has achieved this season, with the NorCals against more talented opponents yet to come.
“For a public school like us with a tiny enrollment to battle and compete like we do, that makes me just so proud of these kids,” De Leon said.
Game notes: Clear Lake fans outnumbered their Stuart Hall counterparts by at least a 2-to-1 margin, maybe even 3-to-1, during the championship game. A rooter’s bus helped swell the numbers of Cardinals fans although many others drove themselves to the Kezar Pavilion, which has hosted sporting events since its construction in 1924. It is located next to old Kezar Stadium, the one-time home of the San Francisco 49ers. Clear Lake’s locker room was used by the 49ers back in the day.